Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) told health officials she was worried about financial conflicts of interest influencing the development of a Covid-19 vaccine — and kept wailing on the topic even after officials denied personally having a financial interest in the matter.
She made the comment during a Wednesday Senate hearing with Centers for Disease Control Director Dr. Robert Redfield; Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn; Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Brett Giroir; and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases chief Dr. Anthony Fauci.
“If federal officials stand to gain financially from certain Covid vaccines and not from others, then Americans might reasonably worry the vaccine was pushed for personal profit and not because it was best for our health,” Warren said, asking all of the attendees to say whether they held “direct financial investments” such as stocks in companies that were developing Covid-19 vaccines.
All of the committee’s witnesses responded they did not, but Warren continued to press the concern and specifically invoked the name of Dr. Moncef Slaoui, a former GlaxoSmithKline who President Donald Trump appointed to lead Operation Warp Speed, the federal government’s effort to assist with vaccine development. “Can you explain to me why Dr. Slowey should get to play by a different set of rules?” Warren asked.
Warren said Operation Warp Speed “invested billions” in companies where Slaoui has investments. “I can’t explain the situation. I
Hahn declined to accept Warren’s characterization of the situation when she asked whether Slaoui should resign. “In a hypothetical situation that you are describing, again, I can’t prejudge because I don’t know the facts but I take seriously the issue of the conflicts of interest and how that might affect public perception,” he said.
Warren closed with a call for Congress to pass legislation she has proposed related to conflicts of interest. “Let me put it this way,” Warren said. “Congress should strengthen the federal ethics laws to root out this kind of corruption.”
Companies closest to developing a vaccine for the coronavirus include AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer. Slaoui, who joined the Operation Warp Speed initiative in May, also previously sat on the board of Moderna.
Watch above via Fox News.